About Us The UN Global Compact – Cities Programme was founded in 2003 on a platform of collaboration between all levels of government, business and civil society, to address critical global challenges at the local level. It was established by the United Nations Global Compact in the recognition that cities have an important role to...
Capacity Building We are committed to help strengthen the capacity of cities and regions to deal with the complexity of challenges that face them. Those challenges – and cities projects – also offer valuable learning and experience for upcoming urban professionals. In addition to other services, we support university education, education and training for city...
Review the challenges facing you – the City Scan diagnostic tool Responding to the need for cities to have tools that assist them to understand and respond to their challenges and to communicate their actions, the international secretariat has developed a diagnostic and reporting tool termed the ‘City Scan’. Some 20 participant cities piloted the...
For Cities The UN Global Compact – Cities Programme is comprised of city, state and municipal governments who make a commitment to advance sustainable development and the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment, anti-corruption and good governance. Cities and regions are encouraged and supported...
Private Sector A critical player for Sustainable Development in cities The United Nations Global Compact was established as a call to companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals. The private sector is a critical actor in the advancement of...
Getting Started – Commit to the United Nations Global Compact The initial and foundation stage of becoming engaged with the United Nations Global Compact and its Cities Programme is to become a signatory to the Global Compact. This commitment is made by the Mayor or most senior representative of municipal government on behalf of the...
Become an Innovating City At the Innovation level, a city or region addresses a complex or seemingly intractable issue, or a set of issues, within the city or region through a multi-year project. Whilst focused on resolving a specific issue or transforming a complex situation, these projects are holistic; they have a transformative quality...
Cities for the Future Volume II – share your innovative practice We are preparing to develop the second volume of our flagship publication, ‘Cities for the Future’. It will be published in early 2017. All United Nations Global Compact city participants are invited to contribute case studies of their innovative projects and practices. In this...
Cities Programme events We encourage and organise events to bring together cities, partners and potential collaborators and communities. We support and recognise events at a city scale to promote cities’ engagement at the local level. We also regularly organise international events, often as a component of larger international gatherings or with partners. Recent examples include:...
Project Development, Facilitation and Technical Advice Services A core focus of the Cities Programme framework is the development of strong and effective cross-sectoral partnerships for projects that tackle critical issues and deliver change and improvement on a local level. The International Secretariat team has specific project development expertise and these services are available to participant...
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UN Global Compact – Cities Programme
International Secretariat
Rotterdam, Netherlands